By Bhupen Goswami
Mumbai : Just like every year, Teacher’s Day was recently celebrated by Maharashtra Class Owners’ Association (MCOA) a non-profit making association of class-owners in Maharashtra, during which teachers were felicitated for their outstanding contribution in the field of Education by the legends of Education Fraternity. Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar and Celebrity Shekhar Suman were present as the Chief Guest and Leading Management Guru, renowned author Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai and Shri. Mahesh Shetty, Founder – Promoter, MT Educare Ltd. were the Guest of Honour. The event was managed by Dhawnee Events at King 
George Auditorium, IES, Raja Shivaji Vidyalaya Sankul, Hindu Colony, Dadar East, Mumbai.
To name a few, other esteemed Guests and eminent personalities from the coaching class industry present at the event are: Prof. JK Shah, Chairman, JK Shah Classes; Shri. Sanjeev Gala, Marketing Head, Navneet Ltd.; Prof. Jagdish Walawalkar, Ideal Classes; Prof. Iyer, Iyer Classes; CA Narendra Bhambwani, Reliable Classes; Prof. Naresh Shroff, Ace Classes and Shri. Nilesh Sarawate, CMD, ASBS Akademia amongst others.
More than 1000 class owners from Maharashtra were present at the event. Experiences and speeches were delivered on stage by experts in the educational field. Measures to be taken to increase respect of the teaching profession were discussed during the program. A special video message was also sent by Actor Vivek Oberoi from Los Angeles which not only boosted the spirit of teachers and class owners, but also added spark on this occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, The Chief Guest Dr. Anil Kakodkar said, “Firstly I congratulate all the teachers here and elsewhere in India and am very happy that MCOA has created this platform to honor them. The future is Knowledge Era and the education sector has to evolve with the changing technological times. We need to catchup with the world in excellence in education and our students need to outperform in the international arena. Our country is diverse and has a lot of diversities which is a great opportunity for us, all we need to do is recognize it an encash it.”
“Private coaching classes are an economy that is comparable to the total education budget of our country,” he added.
In President’s Speech, Prof. Sachin Karnavat talked about the progress in last 2.5 years under his leadership and membership which increased by more than 12.5 times and also said, “Education is the stepping stone to progress and I am glad that MCOA has created this platform to encourage and recognize the contribution of private teachers and honor them. Today’s mainstream education system by the Government is becoming outdated and hence there is a need to use technology and even keep abreast with the industry requirement. Education has to be based on our ancient design ‘Artha, Moksha Kaam and Dharm’ for overall development of the student rather than marks. And the teachers have to understand this and not focus on making money alone. They have a great responsibility in shaping the future of our country by shaping the minds of the students. They have to themselves be a student and keep enhancing their knowledge to keep up with the future trends and train the students accordingly.”
Celebrity Actor Shekhar Suman said, “Today I feel blessed and honored to be standing in front of all you teachers and addressing them. Teachers are Gurus and nothing is bigger than education. You have to be a student all your life & keep learning.”
Speaking to an Awardee Ms. Veena Ledwani, a veteran teacher from Veena Tutorials in Kings Circle Sion, explained that today it is imperative to provide additional coaching to students with latest technological teaching aids and focus on the student’s overall development rather than just marks. We, at Veena Tutorials, have evolved our training systems over time to maintain cutting edge for our students and am grateful to MCOA for recognizing my work, it makes me value my efforts and will motivate me to do even better to maintain the honor of this award.”
Singer Sonika Sharma, Singer Munawar Ali and Music Composer Zubin Sinha gave special performance which enthralled the audience.
Following people were awarded from each section:
Prof. S. C. Karnavat – Author
Dr. ARK Pillai – Education NGO
Dr. Prashant Kulkarni – Out of Mumbai
Prof. Manoj Jariwala– Commerce Section
Prof. Surendra Kelkar – Science Section
Prof. Chhaya Ghumare- Arts Section
Prof. Nand Kumar Parab – School Section
Prof. Vilas Shete– Commerce Section
Prof. Veena Ledwani – Commerce Section
Prof. Kalpana Vedi – Science Section
Prof. Ramesh Patel – Arts Section
Prof. Jyoce Pharel – School Section
Program ended with Vote of Thanks by Secretary Mr. Prajesh Trotsky.
